Killer Cornbread (fine-tuned recipe)

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Lots of specificity here, but that's what defines "fine tuning" when it comes to recipes, right?

If you like cornbread Southern Style---soft and sweet---this isn't for you. If you like it crusty, texture-y, and corny-flavorful, give it a go.

------------------------------------------


DRY INGREDIENTS:

In a mixing bowl, put the following and mix thoroughly

--- 3/4 cup AP flour
--- 2.5 tsp baking powder
--- 1.5 TB white sugar
--- .75 to 1.0 tsp fine sea salt (less and it'll be flat, more will be too salty... I shoot for 7/8 tsp --- what the old cookbooks call a "scant" teaspoon)
--- 1.25 cups cornmeal --- divided as 1/3 cup "grocery store" type (Aunt Jemimah, Quaker, etc) and the remainder (2/3 cup + 1/4 cup) Bob's Red Mill stone ground medium
--- 1 tsp Bob's Red Mill coarse cornmeal (some is essential for that special texture, but too much is like eating sand. And it doesn't TAKE much. Experiment with caution)


WET INGREDIENTS:

In another, smaller mixing bowl, blend the following with a whisk

--- 2.5 TB melted butter
--- 1 egg
--- 2 TB chopped pickled Jalapeno slices (chop into cubes about 3/16" on a side... finer just adds overall heat, and more coarse makes the "sparks" too spread out when eating)
--- 1 cup whole milk + 2/3 of a quarter cup (sounds fussy, but it doesn't take much either way for the batter's consistency to be wrong)

NOTE: put the melted butter into the milk first to avoid cooking the egg


METHOD:

--- pre-heat oven to 425

--- when hot, put a dry 10" cast iron skillet on a middle rack and close the door

--- After 10 minutes exactly, remove and set the pan on the stove top, close the oven door, and "paint" the inside of the pan with a stick of butter until well coated

--- Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl and whisk ONLY 5-6 TURNS, then, with a rubber spatula, scrape-scoop-flip the remaining still-dry ingredients on the bottom and along the sides of the bowl (what escaped the whisk) back into the center of the bowl using a quick up-and-over motion, and give the entire bowl 1 or 2 more cranks with the spatula to assure everything's wet. DO NOT OVERMIX. If it doesn't look uniformly mixed that's OK... wet is all that counts, uniform distribution doesn't matter.

--- Immediately pour & scrape the "batter lava" into the hot skillet, and put it back in the oven

--- Rotate the pan 180-degrees after twenty minutes, then remove after ten more (30 minutes total baking time)

--- No need to set or rest. Can be eaten immediately. Just cut into wedges, split the wedges horizontally (separate top and bottom), and slather with butter

--- Consume with great happiness, enjoying the physical proof that some things can still be made as good as they ever were, 21st century be damned.


NOTE --- the ten minute heat-soak time will vary some according to room temp, oven temp variation, the thickness of your pan, etc. Also, some people prefer a heavier or lighter crust. Experimention is the only way to get a consistent bullseye.
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
I am the consummate fan of Southern-style corn bread, but I have to admit that you won me over when I read that chopped, pickled jalapeno slices are a part of your recipe! I'll have to give it a go over the holidays.

For decades I avoided putting jalapenos in cornbread because it seemed too lateral. One of those gimmicks like how everydamnthing today is flavor-aged in bourbon barrels.

I can't remember what finally caused me to give it a go, but I did, and now always add it if I have a choice.

Absolutely key is to NOT make the bread "hot", though, in the spicy food sense, but just add sparks of flavor. Spark size, and density of distribution is also important if you're looking for perfection. It's one of those things that falls in a narrow range, but boy is it magic when you hit the bullseye.
 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,146
3,762
Kansas
For decades I avoided putting jalapenos in cornbread because it seemed too lateral. One of those gimmicks like how everydamnthing today is flavor-aged in bourbon barrels.

I can't remember what finally caused me to give it a go, but I did, and now always add it if I have a choice.

Absolutely key is to NOT make the bread "hot", though, in the spicy food sense, but just add sparks of flavor. Spark size, and density of distribution is also important if you're looking for perfection. It's one of those things that falls in a narrow range, but boy is it magic when you hit the bullseye.
Recently, my wife bought some cornbread which was soft, sweet, and had specks of jalapeno in it-don't recall the brand. Loved the juxtaposition of the sweet and spicy. Guess that's why I love jalapeno relish. Prefer soft cornbread, however.
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
You lost me at sugar...

I was also anti-sugar, and made it for years without any as a matter of principle before finally deciding to try a small amount to counter a faint, persistent edginess from something I could never identify. The result was surprising. Bullseye. It definitely doesn't "read" as sweet, it just rounds off a sharp corner.

Sugar's contribution here doesn't add anything, in other words, only removes something undesirable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CoffeeAndBourbon

FurCoat

Lifer
Sep 21, 2020
8,770
78,525
North Carolina
In this part of the south our cornbread is neither soft or sweet. Baking cornbread is considered a northern way of making cornbread. In Eastern NC we fry cornbread (buttermilk), usually in bacon drippins or at least lard, and they come out like a thick fried pancake.
 
Jul 26, 2021
2,176
8,944
Metro-Detroit
In Michigan, we rely on the boxed version by Jif (a Michigan company) when in a pinch. It's decent for box bread and less than $1 per box.

I'm known to add shredded cheddar cheese and diced pickled jalapenos to doctor it up a bit.